Jerry Falwell, Jr. claims Trump offered him Education Secretary post
Trump tapped billionaire Betsy DeVos for post after Falwell says he rejected it for "personal reasons"
Prominent evangelical leader and Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. says he was offered the position of Secretary of Education under President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration but was forced to decline the offer.
Falwell told The Associated Press that he was offered the job early last week, but was unable to take it because of “personal reasons.” Apparently, Trump had wanted any new Education Secretary to commit to four to six years on the job, but Falwell said he could not leave his post at Liberty for more than two years.
Falwell also said he didn’t want to relocate his family, particularly his teenage daughter, to the Washington area, reports the AP.
Like most of Trump’s cabinet picks and close advisors, Falwell was an early endorser and a staunch defender of Trump during the nearly two-year-long presidential campaign. Despite receiving criticism for doing so, Falwell used his endorsement of Trump to try and sway evangelical voters to support the business mogul.
Like his deceased father, Jerry Falwell, Sr., the younger Falwell has become known for his conservative views and for his promotion of right-wing causes while heading up Liberty University. He has also continued his father’s efforts to marshal Liberty students and faculty into a conservative voting bloc to swing elections in favor of candidates who support a Biblical view of morality.
On Wednesday of last week, Trump announced his pick of Michigan billionaire, charter school and school voucher advocate, and longtime GOP donor Betsy DeVos, as the next Secretary of Education.
While a Falwell cabinet position would have been like pouring kerosene on an already raging fire, the DeVos nomination also left many organizations within the LGBT community alarmed. DeVos and her husband, Dick, a former candidate for governor of Michigan, donated to Focus on the Family, a conservative organization opposed to LGBT rights. DeVos has since come under scrutiny by LGBT advocates, who have questioned if she supports the practice conversion therapy, which Focus on the Family supports. She has also come under scrutiny for her stances on school vouchers and charter schools, and her family’s financial of other anti-LGBT organizations or anti-marriage equality initiatives.
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